


Marinette's Portfolio and Chloe's Resume

by Classicalass



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien is a coward, Aged-up to like 17, Chloè redemption, F/F, Marinette and Chloe grow up, No Beta, Post-Episode: s03 Caméléon | Chameleon, We Die Like Men, also im entering adulthood and this is helping me get my shit together, not sure which ship is endgame, panic attack in the begining, this will be filled with advice for entering adulthood, we'll see...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-05-31 16:50:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19430098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Classicalass/pseuds/Classicalass
Summary: Marinette is carrying the world on her shoulders. Between her superhero life, an upcoming fashion competition, college apps, role as Class President, schoolwork, and drama with Lila, Alya, and Chat Noir, Marinette has no time to relax. When Lila goes too far, she realizes that Adrien's advice just won't cut it. Instead, she finds an unlikely friend in Chloé Bourgeois. The two girls embark on a journey of love, self-growth, fashion, work, and revenge.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Panic attack in first chapter. Summary for those who want to skip, Marinette has a panic attack and Adrien is familiar with them so he helps her. It is hinted at it in the beginning but it actually happens at "Luckily, Chloe and Adrien know..." and ends at "...but she could not care less." Enjoy!
> 
> BTW, I wanted to write this bc I think that as they get older, the heroes will have so many responsibilities and passions that it will be a big strain on them. This is my take on it.

The classroom never used to be this suffocating. The large windows and white walls are supposed to open up the room. The desks are not close to each other to give students space to breathe. All of the students were meant to be nice and friendly to one another. Mme. Bustier’s smile was meant to add to the room’s “welcoming and caring environment”. But why is it so hard to breathe?

Marinette cannot breathe. Her heart is pounding and she just wants to run.

Her day has started so well too! The night before, she finally got inspiration to create a new design. It was modeled after Audrey Hepburn’s black Givenchy dress. However, she added a more plunging neckline and made the dress champagne-colored. A jeweled bodice started at the neck and surrounded the waist. The dress was gorgeous. Marinette was so excited to submit this design to Audrey Bourgeois’ competition! Whoever enters the best design will get a scholarship that will cover all four years of college. Marinette was determined to win it. 

She hasn’t been this inspired to draw ever since Lila returned. Her lies and threats made the light in Mme. Bustier’s class dull and Marinette’s head clouded. Marinette was not scared, but she was tired and overwhelmed. The jabs Lila would make at her designs, her family, and her crush on Adrien were annoying her. And it did not help that a rabid black cat keeps chasing her and flirting despite saying no many times. His puns got more suggestive and his flirting is a hindrance during battle. 

And Alya! Her whole energy made Marinette exhausted. Marinette tried to tell her that Lila lies but Alya refuses to be wrong (she’s probably a Virgo). She’s not so mad that Alya won’t listen. She’s more upset that Alya thinks Marinette is jealous of Lila. As if! Alya keeps pushing Marinette to apologize to Lila and Marinette refuses. The constant push and pull between the two friends does nothing to help Marinette’s mental health. It seems like people don’t take no as an answer when it is Marinette saying it. 

All of that on top of being the Class President, an aspiring designer (that really needs to work on her portfolio), and a superhero is too much for one person.

She has an urge to fight back and say something to all of them and end all this madness. But will they ever truly listen? And should she really? So she decides to ignore her issues with Lila, Alya, and Chat Noir. Avoiding them takes even more energy out of her but she must listen to Adrien. He told her to be passive and that she should not expose Lila and that things will work out. He must be right! It’s Adrien! He’s her one true love and soulmate! When is he ever wrong?

Apparently, he was.

“Marinette copied my design!” Lila points at Marinette from her seat, her eyes becoming more glassy by the second. She squints hard, forcing tears to roll down her cheeks. “I was going to submit them to Audrey Bourgeois for her contest because I really need the money for college!”

Unknown to Marinette, Lila stole her sketchbook at the start of class and traced her designs. She added a little smudge here and there to make them look older than Marinette’s. 

“That’s not true! That is my design!” Marinette is fuming. She can deal with stupid lies, but that champagne dress was Marinette’s ticket to college. The bakery was not that popular nowadays and they might have to dip into her college fund. She needed that award and Lila was going to ruin it for her. Her ticket to college was clamped in Lila’s hand and soaked with crocodile tears. 

“Oh, please. Your drawing looks like it was made minutes ago. I drew mine last week.”

“You probably made it look that way! I drew mine last night! You traced it, didn’t you”

“No, because I don’t lie to get what I want Marinette.”

“I have never-”

“ENOUGH!” The two girls turn their heads towards Alya and she is fuming. Lila’s eyes widen, thinking Alya was mad at her. Instead, Alya storms up the stairs and looks down at Marinette. “I have had it with you! You have been nothing but cruel to Lila ever since she got here and over what? Over your stupid crush on Adrien!” The boy in question has been hiding his head in his arms while slumped over his desk since this whole argument started. He finally lifted his head at the sound of his name. “Marinette had a crush on me?” he thought. 

Marinette cannot breathe. Despite Alya being Lila’s friend, she trusted her to keep her secrets secret, especially her crush on Adrien. Hell, she even trusted her with a miraculous! Was their whole friendship so flimsy that one liar can ruin everything they had? And what did this say about her, about Marinette’s judgment? Her gut told her to trust Alya and look where that got her. Is she really that stupid? Is she really that bad of a hero? Her heart is pounding and she just wants to run.

So she did.

Marinette runs down the stairs and barely brushes by Lila. Lila forces a few more tears says that Marinette pushed her, making herself the victim once again. Sabrina rushes to her side to comfort her and whispers reassuring words to Lila. Chloe, who has been absorbed in her magazine throughout this exchange, finally looks up to see her best friend’s seat absent. She has been listening to the girls screaming and frankly, she could not care less. Her classmates are not that dumb to realize that Lila’s hand is smudged with lead and that Marinette is so talented that she does not need to steal anyone’s design (not that she would ever admit that). But, seeing Marinette run and Sabrina leave makes her chest ache. She stares at Marinette’s departing figure.

Alya goes to the door and screams after her, “I’m done trying to get you both to be friends and I don’t wanna be your friend too. We should not have to put up with someone as bad as you! And I’m grateful Adrien never dated you!” Alya shakes and she’s clenching her fists so hard that crescent-shaped cuts are being scorned into her palm. She tries to chase after Marinette but Nino holds onto her wrist. He’s known Marinette ever since they were kids. He knows she would never do something this mean. But when having to choose between his friend and his girlfriend, he just wishes he did not have to pick a side. He drags Alya back into the classroom and rubs her back, trying to calm her down.

Luckily, Chloe and Adrien know which side they are on. Since the class is too distracted comforting Lila and Alya, Adrien leaves the classroom hopefully unnoticed. He walks down the hallway looking for Marinette and he hears heavy breathing coming from the locker room. He turns the corner to see Marinette in the corner. Her arms are wrapped around her knees and only her chest is moving. It is heaving rapidly. Her dark blue bangs are sticking to her sweating forehead. Adrien slowly walks near her, trying to remember what to do during a panic attack - he was not a stranger to them.

“Marinette?” He says softly. “It’s me, Adrien.” His name makes her stop breathing for a second. She then begins to breath heavier and faster. It feels like her throat is closing and tightening and expanding all at once at the same rhythm of her heaving chest that keeps going up and down and up and down. She needs to say something to him. The urge to speak pushes her heart in all directions and threatens to pull her throat apart just a little bit, enough to get one, maybe two, words out. But, Marinette does not know that. Her head is ringing with the constant mantra that she’s dying and she’s a failure. Her eyes slowly rise to meet Adrien’s and she opens her mouth. 

“I-uh...ah-I…”

“You’re okay. You are having a panic attack and you’re safe” he says softly. Her arms loosen at her knees but her fists are still tight. “Marinette, can you point to something round in this room?” Adrien asks. Seconds past until she relaxes her hand and uncurls her fist to point at a discarded basketball. “What color is it?”

“...brown...and black” Her arms fall to her sides but her knees remain stuck together and she can barely breathe.

“Okay, you’re doing great. Can I hold your hand?” She nods and lays her hand in his. The first thing he notices is how sweaty her palms are. It is not as bad as he expected. “Can you try breathing with me? I’ll breathe out loud and try to focus on how I sound.” He takes one, two, three, four loud inhales and exhales. She mimics as best as she cans until her breathing returns to normal. Her legs finally relax and she leans back into the lockers. 

“Thank you, Adrien.”

“You’re welcome.” 

They sit in comfortable silence. Marinette’s head is finally clearing up. There is no thought in her mind and for the first time in weeks, she feels at peace. She knows she’s in the locker room and she knows that Adrien is sitting next to her, but she could not care less. 

“So, about Lila…” She feels the pressure build once more in her head and chest but she manages to push it down. Marinette takes a deep breath and holds it just until the pressure is almost gone. Then, she let’s go. 

“What about her?”

“I’m sorry this is happening to you but you can’t lose hope! As long as we know that she is lying, she cannot hurt us. And about the contest, I’m really sorry about that.” He notices Marinette’s face fall at the mention of the contest. “There will be other ones though! And if this happens again, don’t call her out in front of the class, it does nothing. Instead, just let her have that and win other contests, that way, everyone is happy.”

“...what?” 

“Yeah! I’ll find another contest for you to enter!”

“...okay, I guess.” Marinette found herself leaning away from Adrien. 

“Perfect! I’ll call Natalie and-”

“Well, that is the stupidest idea I have heard in a long time.” Marinette and Adrien turn forwards to see Chloe standing above them, and she is pissed. Marinette felt that pressure again, afraid she’d have to deal with Chloe on top of everything happening right now. Chloe hasn’t harassed her in a long time and she was not ready to face it again. However, Chloe was not looking at her. Rather, she looks like she wants to murder Adrien Agreste. “Do you honestly think that letting Lila continue lying will fix everything?”

Adrien gawks. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn’t say that?”

Chloe rolls her eyes. “Right, instead you said that Marinette should not expose Lila to the class and that if Lila steals her work again, that she should just let it happen? Is that not what you meant Adrikins? Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!”

“I just didn’t want to cause any more conflict!” Adrien stands up, leaving Marinette in the corner. 

“Oh, I know.” Chloe narrows her eyes at him. “Ever since we were little, you’ve always let people walk all over you because you don’t like conflict. And, I’ve been the one “causing conflict” a.k.a fixing the problems that you refuse to deal with. I’m used to doing it for you. I can’t stand to watch you bring someone as strong as Dupain-Cheng down to your cowardly level. I’ve shown her better than anyone that sometimes you need a little conflict and stand up to bullies.” 

“But if she exposes Lila, it will just make matters worse.” 

Chloe turns her scowl into a pout and pretends to cry. “Aw, boohoo. Is someone afraid of hurting the liar’s feelings?” Wow, Adrien gains a bit of confidence, thinking he won the argument.

“Yes! Exposing her could cause an akuma!”

“And what about Dupain-Cheng? Does no one care if she gets akumatized?”

“Marinette’s too strong for that!” Marinette just wants to sleep. She really, really wants to believe Adrien because he’s probably right. Adrien always knows what to do. Heck, he just helped her out of a panic attack. But, Chloe has a point. In some twisted way, her bullying made her stronger and unafraid to confront bullies. Not sure that she’d send Chloe a thank-you card for it, but she has become more resilient. Ugh, she feels so tired and dizzy. She only wants to go home and lay on someone’s shoulder.

Chloe glances at Marinette to see her falling asleep in the corner. She picks her up and wraps an arm around her waist. “Ew, I hope no one sees me helping her.” She turns back to Adrien while holding on to Marinette with a wide smile on her face.

“Wow, you are so smart! You are right! The exhausted, emotionally drained, fresh-out-of-a-panic-attack girl drooling on my shoulder can withstand all of Lila’s bullying. What a big brain you have!” She drops the facade and frowns at Adrien. “Tsk, go back to the classroom before class starts or else Ms. Bustier will get mad at you and you’ll have to deal with confrontation.I’m taking her home.”

Adrien actually hesitates. But, he would rather leave Marinette in Chloe’s care than be late. Before he leaves, he turns to Chloe and says “Make sure she gets home safe and sound. Text me when she is.” He walks away.

Chloe yells after him, “tell your BFF Lila I said she’s a bitch! Thanks!” 

“Okay, back to Marinette.” Chloe not-so-softly shakes Marinette until she’s awake.

“Hey, are you okay?” Marinette mumbles against her shoulder. “I’m going to have us excused and I’ll take you to the hotel. Your parents are working today, right?”

Marinette nods. “...big order today...too busy…” 

“That settles it. I’ll call Jean Jacques to pick us up.”

Three phone calls later, Marinette and Chloe are sitting in the backseat of her limo. Marinette is resting against the door, having fallen asleep when Chloe was on the phone. Chloe tries to distract herself by shoving her face in a magazine. But, memories of today’s events creep in.

She yelled at Adrien, possibly ended their friendship, defended Dupain-Cheng of all people, and now she became her caretaker. Chloe knew that she wanted to be a better person, but did that mean losing her closest friend and babysitting her arch nemesis? And even worse, why did she miss having Marinette on her shoulder?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yea I'm going to continue this piece. I've never done a whole fanfic before so feedback is appreciated! Hope you enjoy!!!

As they arrive at Le Grand Paris, Chloe quickly shakes Marinette awake. Marinette jerks awake in her seat, trying to move into a fighting stance, only to be constricted by the seat belt.

“What the? Where am I?” asks Marinette.

Chloe responds, “Oh shush, Dupain-Cheng. We’re in my limo.” Marinette takes in her surroundings. The interior of the limo is all-black with leather lining the seats. The petition is closed, creating a small cove of the backseats which the two teens shared. The windows are blocked by black and yellow striped curtains. Ew. She sees a spot of dried drool where she was laying. 

Somehow, she has found herself in Chloe Bourgeois’ luxury limo. Chloe snaps her fingers in front of Marinette’s face, gaining back her attention. “Helloooo?” Marinette faces Chloe while subtly blocking the drool. “Hurry up and get out of the limo. I can’t stand to be this close to you. Ugh. you look all pale and gross.” Marinette rolls her eyes and the two exit the limo. 

They walk into the hotel and head to the elevators. Once they are inside, it gets real awkward. Neither girl dares to talk. The sound of elevator music replaces their silence. Marinette and Chloe are standing as far from each other as possible. Marinette is so confused. Whenever she and Chloe are in a room together, it usually ends in bickering and yelling. It is never this quiet. Or should she say, peaceful? After dealing with her class and akumas for the past few weeks, she’s almost thankful for the slow jazz seeping through the speakers. There’s no one shouting at her or yelling in fear. Instead, it’s jazzy and awkward, which is more than she could ask for. 

She wouldn’t mind a glass of water though.

And she wouldn’t mind it if Chloe stopped glancing at her every second. It’s very off putting because it is almost as if she’s looking at her in concern or fear.

When they enter Chloe’s room, Chloe’s butler appears with a glass of lavender, water, chamomile tea, and honey. He places it on the gold-encrusted glass table in front of a pink loveseat. 

“That will be all Jean Claude. Thank you.” He leaves the two. “Well don’t just stand there. You look like literal death. Go sit down and drink some water or something. There’s tea there too.” Chloe has been watching Marinette since her panic attack. Marinette was flushed and probably a bit dehydrated. Just in case, she also ordered lavender just in case she started panicking again. But, she’d never actually say she’s concerned about Dupain-Cheng. Luckily, Marinette can gather that this is Chloe’s twisted way of caring, which is so weird. 

Marinette goes to sit on the loveseat and Chloe joins her, making some tea for the both of them. Marinette sips on the water as she watched Chloe work. She hears the stirring of the teacup and nothing else. It is truly music to her ears. She picks up the teacup and the two drink. After a few moments, Chloe is the first to speak.

“Are you feeling any better? I mean, you looked truly disgusting earlier.” 

Marinette answers, “I am. The water and tea are helping a lot. Thank you, Chloe.” 

Chloe is taken aback by her sincerness. She quickly recovers, scoffing and replying with “you’re welcome, I guess. It’s whatever.” Marinette chuckles. Yup, still Chloe...

“I do have to ask. Why am I here?” The last Marinette remembered was Chloe and Adrien arguing. She doesn’t remember exactly what’s said, but she recalls being really dazed and tired. 

“Adrik-. Um, Adrien and I had a little talk about his friend Lila Rossi.” The mention of her name causes a flurry of memories from today to rush through her head. There was the contest, and Lila, and the stealing, and Alya, and a panic attack, and Adrien, and the yelling, and her ultimately passing out. Her hand twitches as she recalls the day in her mind. Marinette fiddles with her earrings, feeling some comfort toying with the smooth gems. Chloe picks up on this and practically shoves the lavender at her face. She doesn’t normally comfort people so she looked up what she should do when someone is panicking or stressed. Apparently, lavender helps. 

Marinette takes the lavender and smells it. She takes a deep inhale and exhales. Huh, I feel a lot better. Maybe I should get some lavender. “Thanks again.” She holds onto the lavender.

“Whatever, you’re welcome. So anyways, Adrien was trying to give you some horrible advice about letting Lila lie and I heard it. So I confronted him about it and told him why it was a stupid idea. Basically, he just wants to avoid drama which will definitely not work in this situation. He returned to class because he doesn’t want to upset his daddy and I got us excused from class so you can feel better.” Chloe drinks her tea as Marinette takes in all of the information. She always had a feeling that Adrien was in the wrong, but she chose not to believe it because it was Adrien. It felt like they were finally getting closer. But, is getting to her crush really more important than her feelings and health? Lila’s lies had taken a toll on her. And it seems like she is not the only one affected. She noticed that Sabrina became really enamored with Lila’s stories. It must have hurt Chloe. But, at least she had Adrien, right?

“Chloe, tell me if I’m wrong but, it almost sounds like you were bad-mouthing Adrien.” Chloe rolls her eyes and rests the teacup in her lap. Her face is pulled down into a somber frown as she stares into the tea. 

“I might have said some not nice things about him being cowardly and accused him of not caring about your feelings.” She looks up. “I don’t regret it though. He was acting so naive and someone had to put him in his place and it just so happened to be me. I know you had some big, dumb crush on him but I thought you’d be the one to call him out.”

Marinette is conflicted. It feels like reality has been flipped on its head. Chloe is caring for her and being mean to Adrien. It’s like nothing is normal anymore.

“I mean, he had a point.” Marinette said meekly. “Letting Lila do her thing and not exposing her feels like the right thing to do. Like, she will eventually come to her senses and be a better person. If Adrie-.” 

“Marinette!” Chloe is mad. How did Adrien manage to convince their everyday Ladybug that being a doormat will solve everything? “You know that Lila is not a good person. She has been lying ever since she arrived at this school and has not stopped, even after Volpina and Chameleon.” Chloe basically demanded Chat Noir to tell her about past akumas and what happened while she was in New York. She did not trust the Ladyblog nowadays and wanted to be prepared in case an old akuma returns. “You are a good fucking person. You always have been. It is just that this year you grew a spine and stood up to me. How the fuck did Adrien ruin that?”

Marinette is too shocked to answer. “Well, why do you even care? I get that you miss Sabrina but why are you complimenting me and caring for me? You bullied me for years!”

They glare at each other, huffing after both of their outbursts. Marinette sniffs her lavender and Chloe takes another sip of her tea. They both don’t want to be mad or stressed. They just want some peace. Chloe sighs. 

“After becoming Queen Bee, I realized that I really was not worthy of being a superhero. I’m not nice. People don’t like me. My kwa-. Um, superhero guide looks at me with so much pride but it feels so fake. I want to earn her appreciation.” Chloe missed Pollen so much. She hasn’t had someone look at her with hope in their eyes in a long time. “And with Lila back in town, it made me realize that I don’t want to hurt people like her. I know you’re sad Marinette and I’m s-sorry if I ever made you feel as bad as she makes you.” Chloe looks like she is on the verge of tears and her hands tremble around the teacup. Marinette sets hers and the lavender down.

“Chloe, you have made my life really hard and stressful.” Chloe slumps even more. Marinette places her hand on hers. “But, I can tell how honest you are and I’m willing to forgive you and move forward. It will take some time though, these things don’t just go away.” Chloe and Marinette look are each other. Chloe’s other hand comes to cover Marinette’s.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Can I give you a hug?” Chloe hesitates before quickly nodding. The two embrace and holds the other tight. Marinette rests her chin on Chloe’s shoulder. “You know, maybe we could even be friends.”

Chloe wraps her arms even tighter. “I’d like that.” They hold each other for a couple more seconds. “But I’m not going to be all nice all of a sudden. My no-bullshit attitude gets me what I want. You should try it.” Marinette sighs with a small smile. Marinette would never expect that she’d find security and warmth in Chloe. And Chloe, she thought Marinette would never forgive her and she’d never become worthy. They both surprised each other today.

“I wouldn’t ask for anything less.”

“You know, Marinette. I learned something during my time as Queen Bee.” Marinette pulls away with a smile on her face. 

“What’s that?”

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people never do nothing. By doing nothing, you’re either a bystander, an enabler, or with the bully. Heroes make the active choice to fight against evil. I see Ladybug do that everyday!” Chloe loses a bit of confidence under Marinette’s blank stare. It is similar to the advice Alya gave, but Chloe’s version finally made sense to her. Chloe shyly admits “I did a bit of research before today. I’ve been meaning to talk to you for a while so I learned what bullying means and stuff. Don’t get all mushy on me or whatever.”

Marinette places her hands on Chloe’s shoulders. “Chloe, I’m so proud of you. Your superhero guide will be and so will Ladybug. You’re taking the right steps.”

“Thank you. God, I’ve said ‘thank you’ more times today than I have ever said it in my life.” The two laugh and drink more of their tea. Chloe puts down her cup. “Okay, so what are we doing about that bitch Lila?”

Marinette sighs, “I honestly don’t know. I want to expose her to the class but I don’t want to deal with her as an akuma. And I really don’t want to do nothing.” Ugh, what am I going to do about Adrien. “I don’t know. I kinda wanna just relax and return to this later. I’m still really tired.”

Chloe smiles. “Okay, how about we meet up tomorrow after class to talk more about this. We have to figure out what to do about the design contest.” Ah shit, almost forgot.

Marinette nods and Chloe calls the limo around. They take the elevator downstairs and they both enter the limo. Marinette looks at her confused. 

“I have some more apologizes to make and a bakery to visit.” 

They arrive at the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. Marinette squeezes Chloe’s hand before they enter. She is so proud of Chloe for apologizing, but she knows that this is a lot for her. 

“Welcome to- Oh, Marinette! I was so worried! Your school called to say you weren’t feeling well.” Mme. Dupain-Cheng hugs Marinette tight and peppers her face with kisses. Chloe watches the scene with a slight tug at her heart. Like her mother would ever treat her like that. “Um. Hello Chloe. What can I do for you?” Mme. Dupain-Cheng does not know how to react. It is not everyday that her daughter and her daughter’s bully are in the bakery. 

“Umm. I- uh. I.” Chloe shifts her feet. She looks to Marinette for support. Marinette smiles at her. “I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I’m sorry for bullying Marinette and being an inconvenience to your family. I hope you can extend this message to M. Dupain-Cheng.”

Marinette speaks. “She apologized to me earlier today to. She’s willing to change and I am ready to forgive her. I told her it will take a while but I want to. Also, we are going to try being friends.”

Mme. Dupain-Cheng steps toward Chloe. She says, “I do not like how you have treated Marinette and us. You were very rude. However, if what Marinette says is true, then you are forgiven. I better see some behavior changes though.” Chloe smiles wide and Marinette is stunned. She has never seen her smile this big. 

“Thank you Mme. Dupain-Cheng!” Marinette’s mom opens her arms for a hug and the two girls join in. They wish they could stay like this forever. 

“Do you think Marinette will be at school tomorrow?” asks Adrien. Instead of daydreaming about his spotted lady love, he thought about Marinette all day. Even with all of her stuttering and blushing, he has never seen her look so small. But she isn’t fragile. She’s their everyday ladybug! She’s so strong and courageous and kind. Nothing could hurt her! 

“Oh, my god, kid! Do you even hear yourself?” Apparently, Adrien was speaking out loud. Plagg rises from his spot and moves in front of Adrien’s face. “After seeing her today, do you think she is totally invincible? Not even us kwami’s are invincible to sadness and anger.”

“But Marinette is not like that! She can handle anything! Just like Lad-” Plagg sticks a slice of camembert in his mouth.

“I’m gonna stop you right there. Marinette and Ladybug are human. They can feel all the stupid emotions you feel. You have to stop putting people on some pedestal. That stuff is not good for you or them.” Adrien remains unconvinced. Plagg sighs. The kid is nice and all, but he can be so stubborn and idealistic sometimes. He decides to move on. “Okay, also, you can’t really think that doing nothing is the right thing to do. The liar took something important from pigtails and then she had a panic attack!”

Adrien does not want to deal with Plagg today. He knows that what he is doing is right and that everything will work out eventually. Ladybug would agree with him on this. He spits out the cheese. “Whatever Plagg. I’ll talk to Ladybug tomorrow about it tomorrow. I’m going to bed.” Maybe I should bring flowers.

The wishful look on Adrien’s face scares Plagg. He knows his cats could get territorial but his behavior coupled with the Ladybug figurines is borderline obsessive. Hopefully, he’d be able to talk to Master Fu or Tikki soon. Marinette has enough on her plate already.

After a long nap (and doing her homework after some gentle prodding from Tikki), Marinette curls up in her bed with a cup of tea, rose macarons, and her sketchbook. She wants to make a new design for the contest that will rival her old one. She hopes that with a clearer mind she’d have so much to draw. But, she has nothing. She looks to her side to see Tikki passed out on her cat pillow (after eating a bunch of cookies). Next to that is her phone.

Marinette props up her phone on a nearby pillow and calls someone for the first time.

“What do you want Dupain-Cheng?” Chloe’s face fills the screen. She is in her bed wearing black silk pajamas with golden decals. Her makeup is gone and she’s painting a new layer of nude polish on her nails. Marinette has never seen her like this. It’s kinda refreshing. Chloe is always pretty with her makeup, but seeing her without it is new. 

“I’m trying to make a new design but nothing’s coming. I thought talking to a friend would help.” Chloe pauses and takes in what Marinette said. She smiles.

“Of course. So, do you watch Queer Eye?” Chloe and Marinette talk for the next hour. 

While Chloe is ranting about her favorite fashion blog, Marinette pauses and draws a quick sketch of a possible design. She doesn’t know exactly what it will look like. However, she’s thinking about a more trendy, silk dress with hints of lavender. 

Once her nails are dry, they bid each other goodbye, both looking forward to tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao I wrote this a tad dizzy and im impulsive so im posting now. Non dizzy me will look at it and probably edit and be mad at dizzy me in the morning. Whoops! Enjoy!

Rough pounding on her trapdoor wakes Marinette out of her slumber. She opens her eyes and groans. Tikki yawns and presses Marinette’s phone. Her alarm was set to 8 am and Marinette squints to see that it is 7 am. The knocking gets louder and faster. 

“Maman, it’s so early! Please let me sleep!” she yelled. The door opens and instead of her mom, Chloe enters carrying multiple bags of clothes. Tikki hides behind a cat pillow.

“Good morning. Get out of bed.” Chloe puts down the bags and taps her foot impatiently. When Marinette agreed to be friends with Chloe, she did not think that it meant getting wake up calls early in the morning. She rolls her eyes and turns her back to face Chloe.

“It’s so early…” 

“Ugh, you’re gonna make me climb up there? And I thought we were friends.” Chloe sucks her teeth and begins to climb the ladder. She sits on the bed and pulls the blankets off of Marinette. The lack of warmth makes Marinette curl up into a ball.

“Noooo…” Marinette whines. “I wanna sleep.” They both stayed up pretty late talking. She had no idea how Chloe was even functioning at this hour. “Why are you here? It’s early!”

“It’s literally 7 am. Anyways, I went online and it said that if you’re having a bad day, wearing a nice outfit can help. And ever since Lila came back, every day has become a bad day. So, I brought some clothes and we’re going to choose an outfit for you.” 

Marinette uncurls and wipes the sleep out of her eyes. “What’s wrong with my normal clothes?” she asks, slightly offended. 

Chloe holds her hands up defensively. “Well, your clothes are nice and all but you wear them a lot. It’s not bad to change things up a bit. Also, the gray is a bit overpowering and I think adding some more colors that compliment or contrast the pink could be a nice change.”

Marinette looks Chloe up and down. She is wearing her normal yellow jacket with a white and black striped blouse. Her pants and shoes are a pearly white and the rhinestone belt completes the look. It was a good outfit, but she also wore it every day. She remembered that Chloe is on rocky terms with Adrien and Sabrina right now. It might be a rough day for her too...

She scoffs, “Okay, I’ll try it. But, you have to do the same. I don’t want to do this alone.”

Chloe mulls it over before eventually agreeing. The two girls go down the ladder and dig into the bags. Luckily, even though Marinette is smaller than Chloe, the muscles she earned from being swinging across Paris bumped her up to Chloe’s size. They both decide to change their clothes but keep the same colors. Their individual color schemes and patterns felt safe. The pink polka dots were reminiscent of Ladybug and the yellow and stripes matched Queen Bee. And if they are going to deal with Lila today, they would have to channel some strengths from their superhero counterparts. 

Marinette pulls out a yellow, black, and white plaid pleated tennis skirt. It reminds her of her favorite American films from the early 2000’s - Mean Girls, Clueless, Legally Blonde. The skirt is pretty, but she’s not completely sure if she’d wear it. She places it aside and continues to search the bags. She finds a yellow cropped crew neck sweater and a black belt with a silver buckle. Both pieces would complement the skirt perfectly. Chloe finds a pink and white polka-dotted dress with puffed sleeves and a cinched waist. It’s cute but the dress had a deep v-neck. She finds a white turtleneck puts it underneath the dress. Chloe really likes the outfit but she would rather wear yellow.

The two girls look up to ask for the other’s opinion. They open their mouths to speak but stop when they see the outfit the other is holding.

“We should-”

“Yeah, you’re right.” They switch outfits and Marinette goes into the bathroom to take a shower and change. While she showers, Chloe goes back into the bags and grabs a pair of short black block heels and a pair of mid-calf yellow socks. Luckily, her sunglasses match the outfit. She places it in her ponytail and looks in the mirror. It’s a great look, but something is off. I’ll have to ask Dupain-Cheng about it. Chloe sits down on her chaise and takes a moment to look around. There is a lot of Adrien here. It’s kinda creepy, but it’s nothing compared to Adrien’s (or her) collection of Ladybug merch, so she can’t judge. 

She’s been so concerned with Dupain-Cheng that she hasn’t thought about Adrien at all. Now that she’s thinking about him, she feels her heart clench. They have been friends for as long as she can remember. She thinks back to when they were kids. Her mom would leave for some work trip and she’d cry all day until her father called Uncle Gabriel. Within the hour, Auntie Emile would show up with a bouncing blond boy and a duffle bag in her arms. He would stay the night and play games until dawn.   
There was one memory that has always stuck out to her. One time, Jean Duparc brought the two kids to the park. They were playing by the fountain when this cat walked up to them. It was a small white cat with blue eyes. It had a red collar around its neck with a golden tag. Jean Duparc checked the tag and saw her name was Gabby. There was a number on the tag for the owner. He dialed the number and called.

While he was on the phone, the kids tried to play with Gabby. Adrien loved pets. Just the other day, he was telling Chloe about how he’s always wanted a kitty to play with and cuddle. But, Gabby was not interested in Adrien at all. She nuzzled Chloe’s leg and would purr when she’d pet her. Whenever Adrien reached out, she’d hiss or hide behind Chloe’s leg. Chloe was surprised. Animals did not like her - especially the pigeons at the park - but Gabby seemed to enjoy her presence. It was nice.

But Adrien was mad. He was so upset that he picked up Gabby and placed him on his lap. Gabby was hissing like crazy and kept trying to escape his grasp. She ended up scratching him. He yelped and she leaped off of him. Gabby ran to Chloe and laid down on her feet. Adrien cried about the cat and about how it was so unfair that the cat loved Chloe and not him. While he sulked by the fountain, Chloe rolled her eyes and slowly picked up Gabby. She cradled her in her arms and felt Gabby purr. She went to Jean Duparc and tugged on his jacket to tell him what happened. 

It was one of the last times they hung out before he began modeling. At 10, his schedule became so tight that she’d barely see him. And when Aunt Emilie disappeared, Uncle Gabriel basically locked him up like a prisoner. 

Chloe used to love that memory. She would look back on it fondly. But, after yesterday, the memory now leaves a sour taste in her mouth. She recalls feeling put off by Adrien’s behavior, but she just thought he was being childish and brushed it aside. 

“Chloe! I’m ready!” Marinette’s voice shakes her out of her thoughts. She looks to the bathroom and sees Marinette brushing her hair in the outfit she chose. Damn, I’m good at this fashion thing. Marinette paired the dress with white tennis shoes. The dress shows off her really defined legs and the thin material of the turtleneck did nothing to hide her biceps. Wait, why am I so focused on her body? More importantly -

“How are you so buff?” asks Chloe. Marinette abruptly stops brushing her hair.

“Um, I - uh. I c-carry a lot of um flour! Yes! I carry a lot of flour and baking stuff because I bake and I live in a bakery.” Marinette stammers and her face flushes. “What else? Oh, Akumas! I’m always running away from Akumas or chasing Alya. You know how she is with the Ladyblog and stuff.” Chloe accepts it and looks at Marinette. The outfit is good but it needs something. “Hey Chloe, how about you wear your hair down today.” 

Huh. She hadn’t thought of that. Chloe takes her hair out of the ponytail and runs her fingers through it. To finish it off, she tucks the sides behind her ears. Marinette’s eyes widen “You look so good! The middle part and having your hair down really frames your face.” Marinette holds up a hand-held mirror and Chloe looks at her reflection. 

“I look so hot what the fuck?” Chloe turns back to Marinette, who is currently putting her hair in pigtails. “No, no, no. If I’m changing my hair, then so are you.” Chloe points at the chaise, motioning to Marinette to sit down. She sits and Chloe stands behind her brushing her hair. Chloe takes the sides of her hair and braids them. Taking the two braids, she secures it in the back with a silver ladybug barrette. She walks in front to admire her look. Marinette shrinks under her calculating gaze. Suddenly, Chloe reaches into the bag and pulls out a tan beret. “We’re french! Why the hell not?” She places on Marinette’s head and smiles. “Perfect! Just change your socks to some tan ones and we are good to go!” 

Marinette feels a little silly wearing it. But if Chloe says it’s good, then it probably is. Huh. Never thought I’d say that. She goes to her nightstand and adds a gold chain choker with stars and a matching bracelet. She looks up to her bed and remembers.

“Oh shit! Tikki!”

“What?” Oh shit, I said that out loud.”

“Oh! Sorry about that! My uh p-plant on the balcony! Yes! I named her Tikki! I forgot to water her! I’ll meet you downstairs.” Before Chloe says anything, Marinette runs to the balcony. Luckily, Tikki got the message and phased up there. Tikki rests on Marinette’s hands.

“I’m so sorry Tikki! I forgot you were stuck up there!” 

“It’s okay Marinette! You were having fun with Chloe. It’s nice to see you smile and hang out with your friends!” Tikki was so worried about Marinette. Her chosen has had to fight off so many akumatizations in the past few weeks. She’s so proud of Chloe for apologizing and is grateful that someone is finally supporting her. During Marinette’s panic attack, she sensed an Akuma nearby. However, when Marinette was laying on Chloe, she stopped sensing it. Something about Chloe made Marinette feel protected and happy. No wonder she made such a great Queen Bee.

“Thanks, Tikki. My dress has pretty deep pockets. Do you wanna stay there for the day?”

“I’d love too! The bag gets stuffy sometimes.” Tikki giggles. “You should probably head downstairs. Chloe’s waiting for you and this is the first time you’ve actually had time to eat breakfast. Go enjoy it!” 

Marinette smiles. “I will. And, I’ll make sure to grab you the special chocolate chip cookies.”  
“The ones with cherries?” Marinette nods and Tikki zips around her in joy. They laugh and make their way to the kitchen.

Her parents are so happy to see their daughter smile that they made Marinette’s favorite breakfast for the two. Chloe and Marinette eat strawberry crepes and an omelet while talking about how much they love each other’s outfits. At 8:15, they grab their bags and walk down to the bakery.

“Wait,” says Chloe. “Where is your sketchbook?”

“Don’t worry, I put it with my diary. You remember that incident, right?” Marinette was joking but Chloe felt ashamed.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that by the way.”

“Thank you. It’s behind us now. We’re turning over a new leaf!” Marinette gives her a comforting smile as they enter the bakery. Mme. Dupain-Cheng is at the register. She calls over Marinette and gives her a hug and a kiss on the forehead. As Marinette pulls away, she gives her a bag of cookies.

“It’s your lucky day,” her mom says. “The dark chocolate cherry cookies just came out of the oven. Thought you girls might like some.” It must have been Marinette’s lucky day. 

They are about to leave when Mme. Dupain-Cheng calls out Chloe’s name. Chloe is scared. She turns and slowly walks to Mme. Dupain-Cheng. She pulls Chloe into a hug.

“Have a great day at school!” She releases Chloe and smiles warmly. Chloe is a bit dazed from the sudden hug. She hasn’t had a hug like that since Aunt Emilie was around. Her eyes soften. Something about the Dupain-Cheng’s makes her long for another hug or touch.

“Thanks, Mme. Dupain-Cheng.” She waves as Chloe and Marinette leave the bakery. 

They walk to the school in comfortable silence. However, as they got closer, Marinette’s breath began to quicken. She stops walking and grabs Chloe’s arm.

“I’m not sure if I can do this.” Marinette chews on her bottom lip. “I mean I look different so people are going to stare at me and the class is already mad at me about the contest and Lila is just gonna find some way to make my outfit change about how I’m bullying her by wearing neutral tones or something like that and Adrien! He’s gonna be there and I. I. I.” She feels like she can’t speak anymore and her chest is tight again. She brings her hand up to put it on her chest but Chloe places a lace bag in her hand. She’s confused. Marinette brings the bag closer to her face and smells lavender. On closer inspection, she sees that it’s a bag of lavender.

“I brought it in case someone acted stupidly today and accused you of something idiotic. Our classmates are becoming too predictable.” Marinette smells the lavender until her chest loosens. “It’s perfectly okay to be nervous about today. You went through a lot yesterday. If you feel like you can’t do it, it’s okay to go home and come back when you’re ready. But, I know that after all of the shit I’ve put you through that you are strong enough to handle most things. So, I suggest that you try to get through the day, show Lila that she can’t bring you down, and show off this damn good outfit. If it gets too much, smell that bag of weeds or just tell me and we can go home or go to the nurse's office.” Chloe places her arm around Marinette. “You may be an everyday Ladybug, but everyone has feelings. And if you feel like you need a break, you can tell me now or later.” Her mother always told her to face her problems and never chicken out. But, Aunt Emilie taught her how to take a break and walk away. She never thought Aunt Emilie’s words would work for her. But, hopefully, it would work for Marinette. 

Marinette releases a breath. She feels her shoulders relax as Chloe rubs her arm. “Okay, I’ll try. Thank you for being so understanding.”

“You’re welcome. Oh, and since you are my friend, I’m going to be nice to you, as you can already tell. However, I refuse to play nice for the sheep in our class.” Marinette laughs.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. I think I’ll do the same.” Marinette holds out her arm. “Shall we?” Chloe lets go of her shoulders and loops her arm through Marinette’s. 

“Let’s.” They walk to the entrance of the school. All eyes are on them. Everyone knew of their infamous rivalry so seeing them linking arms is a strange sight. Marinette’s heartbeat a tad faster and she hated all of the eyes on her. She looks at Chloe and sees her wearing a straight face with her sunglasses on. Marinette recognized that look from Heroes’ Day. It’s not her normal “I’m better than you” look. It’s the same look she wore as the heroes planned their next move on a nearby rooftop. It was the “I’m better than you” look mixed with determination and a dash of disgust. Marinette thinks back to her past battles. As she thinks back on her past victories, she unconsciously mimics Ladybug’s demeanor. Her back straightens, her chin raises, and a small smirk graces her face. 

Chloe looks at her. “Very good Dupain-Cheng.” It’s almost 8:30 am so their classmates are already in the classroom. Lila is talking to most of the class about how excited she is about the contest. Nino and Adrien are standing close to the desks talking about Ultimate Mecha Strike 5. She’s so joyful today and she’s not even pretending. Yesterday, she had managed to turn the entire class against Marinette! What a win! With the class hating her, Adrien being too nice to do anything, and Chloe already not liking her, Marinette is all alone and Lila’s work is finally done. 

Suddenly, she goes quiet and her gaze is stuck on the door. Confused, everyone looks in that direction and sees Marinette and Chloe. It is so quiet that you almost hear Plagg eating his cheese. 

The two walk to the back of the classroom. The soft click of Chloe’s heels pierces the silence. The class’ gaze follows them until they are seated. They take out their tablet and review the work for today’s class. Alya is the first to speak.

“What the fuck is going on?” Her voice makes Marinette flinch and she tries her best to pay her no mind. Alya isn’t loud but hearing her reminds Marinette of the last time she spoke to her. “Marinette, are you kidding me? Have you stooped so low that you’re friends with Chloe now? And what’s with the outfit change?” 

Marinette slowly looks at her, clutching the bag of lavender under the table. She channels as much strength as she can and talks to Alya. “Please don’t insult my friend. She’s actually nice to me, unlike some people. Also, what I’m wearing today is none of your business.” Alya gawks. She’s about to say something when Lila grabs her hand.

“It’s okay, Alya. She just wants some positive attention. After yesterday, she’d probably rather have people look at her body than glare at her. I think it’s working too, just look at Nino.” Alya faces her boyfriend and sees him looking at Marinette. What she does not realize is that Nino is just trying to understand Marinette. Since they grew up together, he knows that Marinette has a few tells that show that she’s freaking out. When he saw her run out yesterday, he felt his gut clench. Something felt off about the whole situation. He’s not sure who to believe or what to think. All he wanted to do was comfort his old friend. 

“What the fuck, Nino? Are you seriously checking her out?” 

“No, of course not! I’m just listening to y’all arguing.” It’s a small lie but Alya is so anti-Marinette that he’s not sure the truth is better.

“Well, stop looking at her like that! And Marinette! That’s so disgusting and not you!” Marinette knows the dress is a little short but she didn’t think it was that bad. Her confidence wavers and she wants to run.

Chloe stands up and puts her hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “Alya and Lila, shut up. There is nothing wrong with dressing up every now and then. Also, I’d be careful with what you say next because it’s bordering on slut-shaming. Like, you are literally harassing her for wearing a dress. It’s not even that revealing! And even if it was, why are being so judgemental. It’s ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. And what she does or what I do is, as my new best friend said, none of your business.” She huffs and sits back down in her seat. 

Alya grumbles and sits in the front next to Lila. While the class goes to sit in their seats, Chloe texts Marinette. Unbeknownst to them, Sabrina stares at Chloe with hurt in her eyes. Not wanting to get akumatized again, she blinks away any tears and texts Lila asking if she wanted to hang out after class.

Chloe: How are you feeling?

Marinette: not sure,,,A little freaked out. I think I’m gonna go to the park during lunch just to get some fresh air.

Chloe: Will you be okay until then?

Marinette: yea...Seeing you shut down Alya made me feel a bit better.

Chloe: Glad I could help!

Adrien, seeing as his seat it taken, decides to not fight it and sits behind them with Nino. He leans over to Nino.

“Can you believe this? I mean Alya wasn’t yelling at her but Marinette just decides to insult her out of nowhere! And Chloe’s accusing her of slut-shaming? Why can’t everyone just relax?” Adrien looks to Nino for some type of agreement. Instead, Nino shakes his head.

“I don’t know, man. I don’t know.” Adrien sighs and decides to review his work. While Lila talks to Alya and Adrien is distracted, Nino walks to where Marinette is.

“Hey ‘nette. Are you okay?” Marinette looks at him with surprise.

“Um, yeah, why.”

“Just wanted to check up on you. Alya and Lila can be a lot sometimes.” 

“Okay. Thanks?”

“Yea. And I wanted to tell you that I wasn’t looking at you that way. It’s a nice outfit though.”

“Okay, thanks, Nino.” 

“Yea, sure thing and I was wonderin-”

“Good morning class! Nino, please go to your seat.” Nino runs to his seat. Hearing his name, Alya turns to face him and sees him coming from Marinette’s seat. Dang it, she’s definitely mad at me.

Marinette texts Chloe.

Marinette: that was weird.

Chloe: Yeah...Maybe he stopped being stupid and realized that Lie-la’s full of shit.

Marinette: one can hope.

They turn their attention to Mme. Bustier. From the back, Marinette can see all of the people she’s going to have to deal with: Adrien, Alya, Lila, and now Nino. This is gonna be a long day. She rests her head on her hand and tries to focus on today’s lesson.


End file.
